Start/Bench: Week 6

Another six teams will be sitting out this week (Arizona, Denver, Kansas City, San Diego, Seattle and Tennessee), but the offense will not be in short supply. The New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints will post big numbers passing and receiving, while Buffalo, Oakland and Cincinnati will dominate the ground game.

I utilize statistical analysis combined with more than 15 years of fantasy football experience to give you an inside look of how players will perform on a week-to-week basis. The Studs list will be updated on a regular basis as players emerge and injuries occur, but be patient with those players listed early in the season. They were ranked and selected high in your draft for a reason.

When using this list, try and remember a couple basic rules:

1) Studs – Always play your studs. Each position will include a list of players that are considered studs and should not be benched. If you have the luxury of needing to decide between studs, check out the matchups or feel free to let the shark tank assist you in your decisions.

2) Depth – Every fantasy team is different and some have more depth than others. Only follow the recommended moves if your team depth allows you to make such a move.

Tony Romo, Dallas at New England: Romo returns from his bye week ready to face the Patriots, who have allowed the most passing yards in the NFL this season. While New England played well against the New York Jets last week, Dallas has many more weapons and a much better quarterback (sorry Mark Sanchez fans). Don’t expect much in the running game from Dallas, but start as many Cowboys’ receivers as you can find this week as Romo has a big day.

Eli Manning, N.Y. Giantsvs. Buffalo: Over the past three weeks Manning has averaged 332 yards passing while throwing nine touchdowns to just three interceptions. This week he faces a Buffalo defense ranked 26th in passing yards allowed. Look for Manning’s hot streak to continue as the Giants’ passing attack plays well at home before their bye week.

Bench

Rex Grossman, Washington vs. Philadelphia: After a solid first two weeks of the season, Grossman has come back down to earth during his last two starts averaging less than 200 yards passing with three touchdowns to four interceptions. Coming off a bye week always helps given two weeks of preparation, but he’ll be facing an Eagles team that desperately needs a win after a 1-4 start to the season. The Redskins will have more luck on the ground this week (good luck figuring out which running back to choose), but the passing attack will flounder.

Joe Flacco, Baltimore vs. Houston: Flacco went from a world-beater in Week 3 throwing for 389 yards and three touchdowns against the St. Louis Rams to a bum in Week 4 throwing for just 163 yards with no touchdowns and one interception against the New York Jets. Expect this week’s performance to be somewhere closer to the Jets game than the Rams game against a Texans defense ranked sixth in the NFL in fewest passing yards allowed. The Ravens will have success on the ground, limiting what Flacco needs to do in the offensive game plan.

About Fantasy Sharks

FantasySharks.com began in 2003, disseminating fantasy football content on the web for free. It is, or has been, home to some of the most talented and best known fantasy writers on the planet. Owned and operated by Tony Holm (5 time Fantasy Sports Writer Association Hall-of-Fame nominee,) Tony started writing fantasy content in 1993 for the only three fantasy football web sites in existence at the time.